Major League Baseball

The New York Yankees earned their 27th World Series title to conclude the 2009 Major League Baseball (MLB) season, which was relatively stable despite a troubled economy. (Total attendance for the regular season was 73.4 million, the fifth highest in the sport’s history but a decline of 6.5% from 2008.) The Yankees won the Series by defeating the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies 7–3 in game six on November 4 in New York’s new Yankee Stadium to win the best-of-seven series by four games to two. New York’s Hideki Matsui tied a World Series record by batting in six runs in a single game and was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP). It was pitcher Andy Pettitte’s third victory in as many clinching games during the 2009 postseason.

Members of the New York Yankees celebrate their title-clinching win over the Philadelphia Phillies …

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In game six of the World Series on Nov. 4, 2009, Hideki Matsui of the New York Yankees slams the …

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In game one at Yankee Stadium on October 28, Cliff Lee pitched a complete game and Chase Utley hit two home runs to propel the Phillies to a 6–1 victory. Lee struck out 10 and yielded six hits. C.C. Sabathia was the losing pitcher. The Yankees rebounded the next night with a 3–1 triumph behind A.J. Burnett, who pitched seven innings, and Mariano Rivera, who finished with two scoreless innings of relief. Mark Teixeira and Matsui hit home runs off loser Pedro Martinez. When the Series moved to Philadelphia for game three on October 31, the Phillies jumped to a 3–0 lead off Pettitte, but they were overtaken and defeated 8–5 as three Yankees hit home runs—Alex Rodriguez, Nick Swisher, and Matsui. Cole Hamels, MVP of the 2008 World Series, was the losing pitcher. In game four the Yankees scored three runs in the ninth inning to break a tie and forge a 7–4 victory. Rodriguez drove in the winning run with a two-out double off loser Brad Lidge, and Jorge Posada followed with a two-run single. Rivera pitched a scoreless ninth. The Phillies averted elimination by defeating the Yankees 8–6 in game five as Utley hit two more home runs in support of Lee, the winning pitcher. With five home runs for the Series, Utley tied a record shared by former Yankees star Reggie Jackson.

Play-offs

The Phillies won the National League (NL) pennant by defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 10–4 on October 21 in Philadelphia to capture the National League Championship Series (NLCS) four games to one and become the first team to reach consecutive World Series since the 2000 Yankees. Ryan Howard was named MVP for the NLCS. The Phillies advanced to the NLCS by defeating the Colorado Rockies three games to one in a best-of-five series. The Dodgers swept their series against the St. Louis Cardinals three games to none.

The Yankees clinched their 40th American League (AL) pennant by defeating the Los Angeles Angels 5–2 on October 25 in New York to win the American League Championship Series (ALCS) four games to two. Pettitte was the winning pitcher, and Rivera recorded the save. Sabathia was the MVP for the ALCS. In the AL Division Series, the Yankees swept the Minnesota Twins and the Angels swept the Boston Red Sox, both by three games to none in those best-of-five series.

Regular Season

Minnesota won the AL Central by defeating the Detroit Tigers 6–5 in a one-game play-off held in Minneapolis on October 6. The Tigers had occupied first place since May 10 and were 51/2 games ahead of Minnesota with only 20 games remaining on the 162-game regular-season schedule, but the Twins won 16 of their last 21 games, and they fell into a tie, thus necessitating a 163rd game, which was decided on an RBI single in the 12th inning by Alexi Casilla. The Yankees won the AL East by eight games over the Red Sox, who qualified for the play-off wild-card berth with the best second-place record. The Angels won the AL West by 10 games. The Phillies captured first place in the NL East by six games; the Cardinals topped the NL Central by 71/2 games; and the Dodgers won the NL West by three games over the NL wild card, Colorado.

Joe Mauer of Minnesota batted .365 (the highest ever for a catcher) to claim his second consecutive—and his third in four years—AL batting title and the season MVP honours. Hanley Ramirez of the Florida Marlins won the NL batting crown with .342. Albert Pujols of the Cardinals hit 47 home runs and earned his third NL MVP award; Teixeira and Carlos Pena of the Tampa Bay Rays had 39 homers each to top the AL. Teixeira also led the AL in runs batted in (RBIs) with 122. The NL RBI leaders were Prince Fielder of the Milwaukee Brewers and Howard, both with 141. No pitchers won 20 games, but four collected 19: Sabathia, Justin Verlander of Detroit, Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners, and Adam Wainwright of St. Louis. Verlander led the AL with 269 strikeouts; Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants led the NL with 261 and captured his second straight Cy Young Award. Zack Greinke of the Kansas City Royals scored an MLB-best 2.16 earned run average (ERA) and secured his first AL Cy Young Award. Brian Fuentes of the Angels had 48 saves to lead the AL; the NL leader was Heath Bell of the San Diego Padres, with 42.

On July 23 in Chicago’s U.S. Cellular Field, Mark Buehrle of the AL White Sox pitched a perfect game, beating Tampa Bay 5–0. The perfect game—all 27 opposition batters retired—was the 18th in major league history, and the 30-year-old left-hander became the sixth pitcher to record both a no-hitter (against the Texas Rangers in 2007) and a perfect game. Buehrle struck out six and was helped by a spectacular catch from centre fielder Dewayne Wise, who climbed the fence to deprive Gabe Kapler of a potential home run for the first out of the ninth inning. Wise briefly lost control of the ball but then grabbed it as he fell to the ground. In Buehrle’s next start he did not allow a base runner for 52/3 innings against the Twins and thereby established a record for consecutive batters retired, 42. Buehrle retired three more batters before his string was severed at 45 with a two-out sixth-inning single by Casilla.

San Francisco’s Randy Johnson—who pitched the last perfect game for the Arizona Diamondbacks against the Atlanta Braves in 2004—recorded his 300th victory in June. Jonathan Sanchez, a 26-year-old left-hander, pitched a no-hitter for San Francisco on July 10, defeating the Padres 8–0. Rivera, the Yankees’ veteran relief pitcher, registered his 500th save. Jason Giambi of the Oakland As hit his 400th home run, and Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners smacked his 2,000th hit.

All-Star Game

The AL defeated the NL 4–3 to win the annual All-Star Game in St. Louis’s Busch Stadium on July 14. The AL continued its dominance in the midsummer event, extending its unbeaten string to 13 and thus securing home-field advantage in the World Series. Curtis Granderson of the Tigers tripled in the eighth inning and scored on a sacrifice fly by Adam Jones of the Baltimore Orioles to break a 3–3 tie. The Rays’ Carl Crawford was voted MVP of a game in which the NL scored all of its runs in the second inning. Jonathan Papelbon of the Red Sox was credited with the victory, and Rivera claimed the save by pitching a scoreless ninth inning.

World Baseball Classic

Japan defeated South Korea 5–3 to claim its second consecutive World Baseball Classic (WBC) title on March 23 before 54,846 spectators in Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles. Suzuki stroked a two-out, two-run single in the 10th inning for his native country, which had won the inaugural WBC in 2006 by defeating Cuba in the championship game. The MVP in the WBC, which featured numerous major leaguers, was Japan’s Daisuke Matsuzaka, a Red Sox right-hander who was 3–0 in as many starts with a 2.45 ERA. He was also MVP in 2006. Japan advanced to the championship game by defeating the U.S. 9–4 with a five-run outburst in the fourth inning against Roy Oswalt of the Houston Astros. South Korea, the reigning Olympic champion, reached the final by beating Venezuela 10–2.

Little League World Series

Chula Vista, Calif., defeated Taoyuan, Taiwan, 6–3 to win the Little League World Series (LLWS) on August 30 in South Williamsport, Pa. Bulla Graft singled in the go-ahead run in the fourth inning, and Kiko Garcia pitched three-plus innings of scoreless relief for the victors, who secured a fifth consecutive LLWS title by U.S. representatives. With Wen Hau Sung and Chin Ou hitting back-to-back home runs in the third inning, Taiwan seized a 3–0 lead, but California replied with a run in the third before rallying in the fourth when Seth Godfrey drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and Nick Conlin scored on a wild pitch. California advanced to the championship game by routing San Antonio, Texas, 12–2 with a nine-run outburst in the first inning that featured three home runs, including a grand slam by Andy Rios. The game was halted after 31/2 innings because of the 10-run rule.

Latin America

The 2009 Caribbean Series was held in Mexicali, Mex., February 2–7. The Aragua Tigers (Tigres), representing Venezuela, won the championship with a 5–1 record. Mexico’s Mazatlán Deer (Venados) finished second with a 3–3 record. Puerto Rico’s champion, the Ponce Lions (Leones), and the Licey Tigers (Tigres) from the Dominican Republic tied for third place with 2–4 marks.

Venezuela lost to South Korea by a score of 10–2 in the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic, held in Los Angeles in March. Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, and Puerto Rico failed to reach the semifinal round of the 16-team tournament, which was won by Japan.

In Cuba, Havana Province defeated Villa Clara four games to one to win the 48th Serie Nacional (National Series). It was the first championship for Havana, which had defeated Isla de la Juventud four games to one in the quarterfinals and Pinar del Río by four games to two in the semifinals to advance. Isla de la Juventud infielder Michel Enríquez won the batting title with a .401 average. Alfredo Despaigne from Granma set a new Cuban league home run record with 32. Pinar del Río pitcher Yuniesky Maya went 13–4 to lead the league in wins, while Yadier Pedroso from Havana posted a league-leading 1.91 earned run average.

The Saltillo Sarape Makers (Saraperos) in August defeated the Quintana Roo Tigers (Tigres) four games to two to win its first Mexican League title after nearly 40 years in the league. The Tigers, a team formerly based in Mexico City (1955–2001) and Puebla (2002–06), had won nine previous championships.

Japan

The Yomiuri Giants beat the Nippon-Ham Fighters 2–0 in game six at the Sapporo Dome, the Fighters’ home stadium, on Nov. 7, 2009, to win the best-of-seven Japan Series by four games to two. The Giants claimed their first Japan Series title in seven years and 21st overall. Giants catcher Shinnosuke Abe was named the series Most Valuable Player (MVP) after hitting .304 with two home runs and five runs batted in (RBIs), including an RBI double in game six. In the Central League (CL) Climax Series play-offs, the Giants downed the Chunichi Dragons four games to one in the decisive second stage after the Dragons eliminated the Yakult Swallows two games to one in the first stage. In the Pacific League (PL) Climax Series, the Fighters beat the Rakuten Eagles four games to one in the second stage after the Eagles swept the Softbank Hawks in two games in the first stage.

In the regular season, Dragons first baseman Tony Blanco led the CL with 39 homers and 110 RBIs, and Giants outfielder Alex Ramirez hit .322 to win his first batting title. Pitchers Kazuki Yoshimi of the Dragons and Shohei Tateyama of the Swallows tied for the CL lead with 16 wins. Dragons left-hander Chen Wei-yin had a league-best 1.54 earned run average (ERA). Seibu Lions third baseman and designated hitter Takeya Nakamura led the PL with 48 home runs and 122 RBIs, and Eagles outfielder Teppei Tsuchiya captured his first batting title after hitting .327. The Lions’ Hideaki Wakui won a PL-leading 16 games. The Fighters’ Yu Darvish topped the PL with a 1.73 ERA.

In the second World Baseball Classic, Japan defended its 2006 title, defeating South Korea 5–3 in the final game in Los Angeles on March 23. Daisuke Matsuzaka, a pitcher with Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox, was the tournament MVP.